We recently hosted an Aggregator Hot Seats session at the GWA conference.
We asked for your burning questions. We then invited aggregators brave enough to answer them on stage, on the condition that they also bring hard data (that nobody had ever seen before) to back up their answers.
The result was an data-driven and engaging panel on pros/cons and best practices of working with coworking space aggregators. And a data deck.
Get future weekly summaries in your inbox.
✊ Coworking impact.
🖼️ Solving a common problem with… opportunities #
Every coworking space has to figure out what to put on all those walls, inside those corridors, within those meeting rooms and sometimes even in the restrooms. Hub Australia are approaching that challenge a little differently with an Artist In Residence program.
While they are not the first I’ve heard to do this (I do remember seeing something similar as far back as 2014 in some spaces in London), I do love the way they openly shares what’s in it for the artists (other than "the exposure"), including a grant, free year of membership and 100% of any sold artwork.
👉 Read this.
📰 Coworking news & views.
🎥 Could this be the best coworking ad ever created? #
Fans of Succession (and real, useful amenities) will love this advert. It totally could have been an ad for any number of workspace/hybrid-work apps.
It isn’t. Unfortunately. But it totally could (and really should) have been. Aggregator subscribers, the ball is your court now.
👉 Read this.
🏴 Scotland taking notes from coworking successes in Ireland #
A project led by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and University College Cork (UCC), funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Irish Academy, explored the success of Ireland’s Connected Hubs network and its potential for rural Scotland. The Irish network, established in 2021, supports 400 hubs, contributing €1bn annually to local economies. The study found that Ireland’s hubs boost regional development, reduce commutes, and encourage relocation to rural areas.
Scotland, with 165 coworking hubs (42% in rural areas), could benefit from a similar national network to address depopulation and enhance rural economic growth. Findings will guide future development of coworking spaces in Scotland.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 How a flex space platform is saving companies £45k per year #
How? With Fractional Offices. Tushar Agarwal, shares that Hubble (who were one of the companies who shared insights with us when we investigated Fractional Offices for you all) are saving their customers an average of £45,000 (just under $60k) per year on unused office space. How how? Instead of renting for all 30ish days of the month, the companies are just renting space they need for 1, 2 or 3 days a week.
Fascinating to see an update on the number from them too, with over 1k part-time offices listed across London and one of their customers saving over £160k moving from 5 days a week to 3 days a week in trendy Soho.
👉 Read this.
💰 There’s no money in coworking…or is there? #
Workbar‘s CEO Sarah Travers shared a post about a popular belief that she’s happy to prove false. For all those who believe that there’s no money in open-plan coworking, she shares how their open spaces generate 2x the revenue of their private offices – while also costing less to build out.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 FSA recaps a busy and productive year #
At the Flexible Space Association’s Annual General Meeting, Chair Andrea Kolokasi provided a report on the key activities from the past year. In short: membership grew to 1,150 workspace locations across the UK, alongside 41 service provider members. Efforts were made to address business rates challenges, and industry promotion included speaking engagements, media features, and expanded social media reach. A busy events calendar featured a successful Gala Dinner, a well-received annual conference, and numerous roundtables, webinars, and networking events.
👉 Read this.
🪴 This Innovation Center believes in Western Michigan growth #
Ten years ago, no one knew what the Muskegon Innovation Center actually was. Now, this Grand Valley State hub is bustling and hustling, serving the entrepreneurs of this picturesque countryside. Lauren Walker from Coworks catches up with Kevin Ricco about how they do it, and why.
👉 Read this.
Share This Week's Summary
💻 Coworking technology.
📞 Even more AI agents for flex spaces, now for phone calls #
Jake Smith shares how LiveAnswer AI can be used to automate call answering services for flex spaces. Although there’s a lot of AI being thrown at/around coworking right now, what’s very noteworthy here is that LiveAnswer AI, is from EVO Technologies, one of the OG’s of phone services for multi-tenant and flex space businesses.
This follows other AI agents being touted to take over other incoming requests, and leaves me wondering about where the line is between human hospitality and AI automation. Are we there yet? Getting close?
👉 Read this.
🚪 How to logistically set up profitable fractional offices. #
ICMY, I’m fascinated by the undercurrent trend of Fractional Offices, so when Vera Eftimovska’s 20-minute piece on how access control systems like Kisi can be used to make part-times offices work and profitable, I dove right in.
In it they explore some of the challenges with adding this kind of flex space product to your business, how tech can alleviate some of the challenges, and a 6-step plan for setting up and managing these products.
👉 Read this.
📈 Coworking data.
🕯️ 72% of on-demand meeting rooms are for internal use #
Eyal Lasker shares that, according to booking data from the Flexspace ecommerce platform, 79% of meeting room bookings are made using work emails, vs the rest using personal/non-work addresses. He also highlights that 28% of the meetings booked were client-facing, while 72% are for internal team meetings, workshops, or training sessions.
A valuable subset of data if you’re looking to expand your corporate coworking customers.
👉 Read this.
🇬🇧 How London’s 60 brands stack up, by brand and reputation #
Zoe Ellis-Moore kindly shared a direct ungated copy of the Spaces to Places‘ recent London Flex Brand Index report. In it we explore the size of London’s flex space market, not only by number of lcoations or square footage, but also by the impact and reach of each local and international brand.
👉 Read this.
🤝 Coworking market moves.
🇫🇷 French merged brands rebrand. #
The merged coworking group between Startway and Multiburo recently rebranded to Mitwit Office.
Coworking Europe shares that the rebranding has been in the works since 2022 when Multiburo was taken over by the real estate arm of the La Poste Groupe, who are majority owners of Startway – which focused on turning old post offices into flex spaces.
Combined the group aims to build a network of 100ish sites by 2030, up from their 50 today, as well as extending their international reach beyond their current locations in Switzerland and Belgium.
👉 Read this.
🇪🇸 Spanish operator opens new 4.4k sqm location #
Coworking Europe shares an update from Cloudworks‘ new Barcelona space. Alongside the news, they also share that the brand now serves 2,900 members, across 14 locations covering 28k sqm. In 2023 they generated €10.3M in revenue.
👉 Read this.
🏋🏼 UK fitness and workspace facility opens another location #
The team at Third Space shared their recent opening in Clapham Junction. More than just a gym, Third Space reflects a trend that we’ve been seeing in TWIC week after week: the combination of fitness, workspace and gathering space, branded as a lifestyle club.
👉 Read this.
🇮🇳 Hotel chain merger with an eye on workspace needs #
Indian based OYO makes a big play into the USA market by purchasing the Motel 6 brand from Blackstone real estate. With over 157,000 hotels in 32 markets, OYO is a major hotel player in almost every market except for North America. By purchasing Motel 6, they now have a sizeable network to compete with.
ICYMI: OYO has a Workspaces brand that they have been slowing growing out of just being a third party aggregator to include and offer workspace at their hotel locations.
👉 Read this.
🥯 The Shop Workspace expands to Brooklyn! #
The Shop Workspace officially announced its upcoming expansion to Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood. The space will span 12k sqft across a larger Domain Companies residential tower, is set to open in early 2025 and will feature common space, private offices and a series of art studios.
👉 Read this.
🆕 Operator Expands in Ottawa #
TCC shared updates on their newest location, opening in Ottawa. Tours are booking now!
👉 Read this.
🆕 Bozeman gets more coworking #
Thrive Coworking announced the opening of their newest location in Bozeman, MO with a Grand Opening set for October 8th.
👉 Read this.
🎙 Coworking conversations.
CEO of Coworkies, and co-author of "Around the World in 250 Coworking Spaces", Pauline Roussel takes the TEDx AUBG stage and shares her professional journey through the French schooling system, and deep into the coworking movement.
This episode of the Taking Care of Business podcast is not only recorded live from TownSq‘s newest location, but Gareth Jones the founder of the coworking network joins hosts Ellie and Nigel to discuss the value of sharing business challenges and wins with like-minded professionals across different industries.
Kristin Hardwick joins Jamie Russo on the Everything Coworking podcast and shares her journey from corporate life to photography, and eventually, the creation of CoHo—a coworking space that prioritizes community, connection, and the needs of small business owners and remote workers